MARION COUNTY, Fla. – During a Tuesday news conference about a massive expansion project along Interstate 75, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced plans for yet another upcoming Buc-ee’s location in the state.
So far, Buc-ee’s has two locations in the Sunshine State: one in St. Augustine, and the other in Daytona Beach. Aside from the upcoming Ocala location, there are plans for a new Buc-ee’s near Fort Pierce, as well.
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But DeSantis on Tuesday announced that the company is reportedly planning yet another Buc-ee’s location off Interstate 10 near Tallahassee, which he said “is going to revolutionize driving on I-10.” No additional details about the location were released during the conference.
At the news conference, DeSantis unveiled the I-75 expansion project, which will add more auxiliary lanes from State Road 44 to State Road 326 — roughly 31 miles — from Wildwood to Ocala.
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The governor also discussed the benefits that such an expansion would pose to traffic congestion and future evacuations, though he also focused on the potential benefits to an upcoming Buc-ee’s gas station in Central Florida.
That location was originally posited to be built near Interstate 75 and Ocala, with the company proposing that it could open sometime this year.
DeSantis on Tuesday brought up how he had been approached with a request from officials in Marion County for funding to help create an interchange on northwest 49th Street, just off I-75.
“I get pitched on a lot of things, right? I mean, it just goes with the job,” he said. “And so I’m just kind of going there, going through some stuff, and then I’m like, ‘Alright.’ I didn’t commit to anything.”
However, the person briefing DeSantis reportedly told him that by funding the interchange, they would be able to have the upcoming Buc-ee’s right there off the exit to I-75.
“I said, ‘Sign me up,’” DeSantis said.
As a result, DeSantis announced, the upcoming Buc-ee’s gas station near Ocala is set to be located right off the interstate thanks to the new interchange.
DeSantis also commented on the chain itself, dubbing it “like the Shangri-La of service stations.”
“It’s funny because the owner of Buc-ee’s is a friend of mine,” DeSantis said. “He’s been supportive politically, and he’s involved in Texas. And sometimes if you’re involved on one side, the other side wants to attack you. So I remember there was a couple years ago, there was an effort. These are probably paid left-wing groups. They wanted to boycott Buc-ee’s because the owner had given to (Texas) Gov. Abbott. And I’m like, ‘Yeah, that boycott ain’t going to work very well.’”
DeSantis said the I-75 project — which was originally planned to be 10-15 years in the making — would be expedited because “(we’ve) got to get going now.”
This expansion is just one part of the state’s overall effort to improve infrastructure over the next five years, totaling almost $70 billion.
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